Note that the value of an instanceof test can change based on changes to the prototype property of constructors, and it can also be changed by changing an object prototype using Object.setPrototypeOf. It is also possible using the non-standard __proto__ pseudo-property.

instanceof and multiple context (e.g. frames or windows)

Different scope have different execution environments. This means that they have different built-ins (different global object, different constructors, etc.). This may result in unexpected results. For instance, [] instanceof window.frames[0].Array will return false, because Array.prototype !== window.frames[0].Array and arrays inherit from the former. This may not make sense at first but when you start dealing with multiple frames or windows in your script and pass objects from one context to another via functions, this will be a valid and strong issue. For instance, you can securely check if a given object is in fact an Array using Array.isArray(myObj)

Note for Mozilla developers:
In code using XPCOM instanceof has special effect: obj instanceof xpcomInterface (e.g. Components.interfaces.nsIFile) calls obj.QueryInterface(xpcomInterface) and returns true if QueryInterface succeeded. A side effect of such call is that you can use xpcomInterface's properties on obj after a successful instanceof test. Unlike standard JavaScript globals, the test obj instanceof xpcomInterface works as expected even if obj is from a different scope.

Examples

Demonstrating that String and Date are of type Object and exceptional cases

The following code uses instanceof to demonstrate that String and Date objects are also of type Object (they are derived from Object).

However, objects created with the object literal notation are an exception here: Although the prototype is undefined, instanceof Object returns true.